View previous topic :: View next topic |
Author |
Message |
husby_d
Joined: 10 Sep 2000 Posts: 16
|
Posted: Fri Aug 30, 2013 8:25 pm Post subject: Mast track positions |
|
|
Now that long harness lines are fashionable again, how long will it be before we decide that it's really best to move your mast track all the way forward? |
|
Back to top |
|
|
WutUpWitU
Joined: 21 May 2000 Posts: 52
|
Posted: Sat Aug 31, 2013 12:30 am Post subject: |
|
|
or do you mean how long before we move them forward and then decide to move them back again?
repeat as necessary, YMMV |
|
Back to top |
|
|
dhanson928
Joined: 12 Mar 2012 Posts: 99
|
Posted: Sun Sep 08, 2013 11:59 am Post subject: Mast position? whatever... |
|
|
It seems like one can sail just about anything when it comes right down to it. I've been messing with a bunch of old and new boards lately, moving stuff around, footstraps, fins mast placements. The range of variation is really big, but they all seem to work after a period of sailor adjustment...If you take a look around on the beach next time, you will see masts at mid-board, some about 1/3 back from the nose...both types being sailed effectively despite a couple of feet difference in where the rig is set.
I'm no expert on equipment but I think that a lot of 'development' is 'Fad' or marketing and changes come and go without really any reason I can see other than to sell more stuff.... |
|
Back to top |
|
|
isobars
Joined: 12 Dec 1999 Posts: 20935
|
Posted: Sun Sep 08, 2013 12:26 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Even in just the 4 years I tested warehouses full of new Gorge gear, that was clearly in evidence. I reached your same conclusion then, and haven't changed my mind in the 18 years since then. Some changes actually offer some improvements, but with baggage ... disadvantages ... buyers need to recognize and prioritize. Examples: stubby boards, Formula, and dedicated freestyle boards. At least they do offer some advantages to offset their shortcomings, unlike the short-lived no-nose fad of the early '90s. |
|
Back to top |
|
|
KGB-NP
Joined: 25 Jul 2001 Posts: 2856
|
Posted: Sun Sep 08, 2013 7:12 pm Post subject: |
|
|
I felt the same way about quads until I got one. They too do have their limitations, but they are the next best thing to buying skill. I need all that I can get. |
|
Back to top |
|
|
Bond1
Joined: 25 Apr 2000 Posts: 168
|
Posted: Sun Sep 08, 2013 7:31 pm Post subject: |
|
|
I thought the early nineties was the time of the wide nose. I'm starting to forget things I guess.
I prefer something in between. |
|
Back to top |
|
|
surfersteve
Joined: 24 Apr 2007 Posts: 203
|
Posted: Mon Sep 09, 2013 8:43 pm Post subject: |
|
|
I have two RealWinds boards - a 90L and an 80L, both fish. I have been riding the mast tracks all the way forward for two years. My custom Quatro single fin has the track in the middle. My (now sold) Quatro 75L LS model I put in the middle or forward. According to people who know Keith Teboul personally, he says the quads should be positioned all the way to the back of the track. If you watch the way he sails that makes perfect sense for him. Most of us don't sail Ho'okipa daily or sail his style though.
Foot strap positions and width are changing also. The geometry of this change will also affect mast track location. Both of these affect the way the board sits of the water and how it handles, As others have said, with some boards small adjustments make a big difference. Not so much on others. Find a day with a few hours of steady conditions and play around. |
|
Back to top |
|
|
johnl
Joined: 05 Jun 1994 Posts: 1330 Location: Hood River OR
|
Posted: Mon Sep 09, 2013 9:24 pm Post subject: |
|
|
I found something similar. My regular boards (freewave and freestyle) tend to have the masts near the front. My Realwind 80 also likes it near the front. BUT when I tried my Starboard 76 Quad near the front I hated it. It seems to like the center position (right where the marks seem to indicate it should be). I sail all the boards in similar conditions (the Gorge mostly) and my booms are all set to the same height with the same harness lines.
I don't know if it is the board design (I don't have the 5 fin convertible just the standard quad model) or just the way quads ride.... |
|
Back to top |
|
|
dllee
Joined: 03 Jul 2009 Posts: 5329 Location: East Bay
|
Posted: Tue Sep 10, 2013 2:31 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Front, center, back means nothing.
What counts is the distance from the tail to the mast track, and the distance from the center of front straps to the mast track.
Freestylers like around 17-19" strap to track.
Most slalom guys closer to 23".
Most formula maybe 25".
Wave guys vary from 18-22"....strap to track. |
|
Back to top |
|
|
spennie
Joined: 13 Oct 1995 Posts: 975 Location: Thousand Oaks, CA
|
Posted: Wed Sep 11, 2013 11:15 am Post subject: |
|
|
zirtaeb: .....Unless you're 6'4" and weigh 210 like I do, then it goes further forward. You just need to try different stuff and see what works for you.
+1 for dhanson928 on this subject. _________________ Spennie the Wind Junkie
www.WindJunkie.net |
|
Back to top |
|
|
|